Qatar has set Israeli sphincters twitching as they follow in Saudi footsteps in seeking F-35 jets from the US - and they only have themselves to blame. Right, so this is being sold as an argument about jets, as if Israel has suddenly developed a principled interest in the airspace of a country it doesn’t border, isn’t at war with, and routinely relies on to clean up its diplomatic messes. But nobody is actually confused about what’s happening here. Israel isn’t panicking because Qatar wants aircraft. Israel is panicking because Qatar got hit. Qatar hosts the largest American base in the region, plays mediator when Washington needs someone to talk to people it pretends not to talk to, and has spent years doing exactly what the system rewards: stay useful, stay quiet, stay embedded. Then missiles land on its territory anyway, because wars don’t sta ...